nesmaster14

Hey folks, what are some of your favorite examples of games within games? They come in many sizes from tiny menu/loading games, to mini-games, and even full-fledged games, but all are alongside or hidden in a single game. The games within games! A few memorable ones for me that come to mind: Ape Escape 3 (PS2) - "Mesal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" - The amount of effort they put into this parody is epic; I'd basically consider it canon to the MGS series, haha. Yet, it's only accessible in as an unlockable mini-game. Beyond Good and Evil (PS2) - Shufflepuck/air hockey/pallet game. Fun little mini-game, I especially enjoyed the music/ambience of the whole scene. Flinstones: Rescue of Dino and Hoppy (NES) Basketball - playing a full score basketball game in a platformer game was unexpected but a fun and creative use of the game engine. Dead Head Fred (PSP) Pinball table - Dead Head Fred was a really cool game, and finding a decently simulated and fully-playable pinball machine within the game was a pleasant surprise. Super Spy Hunter (NES) Pong - it's hidden away via a code, but it's Pong on NES which I thought was cool to see. Mini-games can have a surprising amount of effort put into them, some may get overlooked and can be a welcome and enjoyable addition to the game. So what are some of your favorites?

You got it! Maybe I should've used just a small yellow square from the image Good to see Epic Pinball DOS recognized, fond of it from back in the day.

Cool, those music ones are fun. Alright new one!

1. Sonic Pocket Adventure (Neo Geo Pocket) / Gigantic Angel Zone Act 2 2. Parasol Stars Bubble Bobble 3 / Boss Theme (TG16) 3. ??? 4. Mega Man (NES) - Ending Theme Knew the Sonic and Mega Man one, I recognized the soundchip on #2 then did some process of elimination from there haha. I don't recognize 3 aside from the soundchip but maybe someone knows it.

Funny this thread was just made, I literally just noticed Gustav Holst' "Mars Bringer of War" when I was watching my buddy play Ape Escape 3 haha. Pretty cool to hear in the game, wasn't expecting it: One of my favorite examples is Tetrastar: The Fighter (Famicom), where the entire soundtrack is epic classical music. Here's part of the title screen with Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture", in fully 8-bit glory complete with sampled orchestral hits and timpani. It also has a cool Night on Bald Mountain rendition among others.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

I finished up Metal Gear Solid (GBC) last night. Very cool game! I quite enjoyed the ingenuity of it, and it's surprisingly faithful to how the console games play and feel, but with the obvious technological difference. It's a real testament to the creative approach to gaming Kojima envisioned way back in the 80s/early 90s. While the 3D stuff is awesome as well, I feel that 8-bit style is still untapped and would be cool to see revisited!

Ink-Tober! I might attempt to paint/draw one sometime. Anyway, a few ideas as well... Gremlin from Uninvited (NES) - Helper guy from Shatterhand (NES) -

Yes, I think particular with older games when ROM space was premium, I'd consider it vital to the full experience of a game. Useful reference info, tips, and supplemental entertainment. There's surprisingly a lot of useful info that seems obscure even to this day. For instance, the manuals for Abadox and Thundercade both recommend using Turbo controllers to play. Nowhere else would you know that except if you read the manual. On top of its usefulness, I also find many NES manuals very charming; there wasn't a real standard so many have their own personality and quirks, from gameplay photography, graphic design/layout, character illustrations, to creative gameplay and backstory descriptions. One standout for me was Totally Rad (NES), with its use of real photographs seemingly of folks from the company, with fourth wall dialogue throughout. It's unusual but fun. I can say that about a lot of NES manuals, they're not as dry as one may expect.

Not sure the qualifier for "Z" grade, but I'm assuming very low budget. Kung Fu Werewolf From Outer Space (2001) by Cinemassacre I enjoyed this one in high school, I haven't watched it much since but I imagine it's still fun. All shot on VHS and edited using multiple VCR's. Also I think the title screen was made using Mario Paint haha.

Wow, some good and unexpected responses here. Sure enough, there's even more ways to play GB/GBC I hadn't thought about (like Super NT/FPGA w/ Super Gameboy). Also, I had an emulation category in my notes but missed it on the poll. I might update it a bit. I think it generally covers the range though. There'd be 50+ options otherwise. Also, good point about playing on handheld -- if the power goes out you can still game! (unless you have an unmodded GB/GBC where you'll need to find a candle to see the screen Lol). +1/-1 for GB handheld I can definitely understand the benefits of playing GB/GBC outside of stock hardware nowadays. With some folks still playing the original toasters and CRT for the contests, I thought for sure more folks would be playing OG Gameboy/Color via handheld too haha. I guess I'm in the minority enjoying an unmodded GBC handheld, at least at the moment.

I've recently gotten a bit more into Gameboy Color again. Nowadays, it seems there's quite a variety of ways to play. Thought it'd be fun to hear folks setups/and or ideal setups. The poll above I think covers most options, but feel free to discuss! Also, I separated Pocket because I feel that's a more uncommon go-to option, but we'll see (I actually had one in the day too). For me, I'm enjoying playing the original unmodded Gameboy Color hardware. Gotta find that right spot out of shadow, via the precise movement of mind body and spirit, to redirect the sunlight or nearby light source, in the goal of obtaining full-view of its low pixel-density screen for optimal handheld gaming circa '98. lol

Runs on a real NES. It's a bit of an ode to unexpected final boss fights in games. The boss fight after the final boss fight, second form. haha.

River City Ransom has a tea shop.

Same way I pronounce Iron Maiden. I'm not Japanese native so in English it's Gayden haha. But, if one wants to be so fancy and only say Ninja Guyden, just call it Ninja Ryukenden as it's called in Japan

This looks great, and the fact it's an actual Genesis homebrew is awesome. I'll probably load it on Everdrive later and see if it'll run on my Genesis. Thanks for the heads up!

Could just be a worn TV; performance/brightness degrades over time. The main issue with playability would be the brightness as that can affect the response from the zapper. My guess for the game issue is games have different color/light patterns, so the brightness perhaps varies a bit between them. Unless it's some other basic issue, I think your finding another TV is a good option; repairs aren't overly worth it unless you really know how to service electronics and handle the dangerous/lethal high voltage lurking in CRTs. Good luck on your search!

Beat Typoman (2017) last night on PC. Having just beat Typing of the Dead on Dreamcast, my interest was piqued in quirky games like that. While not a typing game, it's a 2D platform puzzler with a unique wordplay mechanic. I really enjoyed it! Very creative level designs and cutscenes. The platforming was fun between the puzzle designs too, not overly difficult but balanced. The story was well-told through visual environmental and wordplay interactions, it was pretty clever. The length was just right for me at ~3.5 hours first playthrough.

Fun stuff. And also the classic Arbian Nights cart, which may or may not have this as the title screen:

Don't forget NES games were often cryptic and many times guides/maps were made/sold to help beat the games back then. You're still playing the game, and it's a good challenge if you're up to it. I too wondered aimlessly when I played it many years ago, despite really liking the game's concept. Having figured out what to do, my enjoyment of the game increased significantly, and I was able to finally beat it earlier this year. I'll say, even with the help of a guide, you'll still feel immersed/lost in a vast, deep alien world. It's a great NES game.

Been re-listening to a lot of Gentle Giant lately. Oddly enough, literally just learned Ray Shulman past away recently. R.I.P to a stellar musician.

I remember being interested in this when it came out haha. I saw it and wish I could say I remember something from it. One movie though of similar vein I did enjoy was "Duel" (1971).

A few of my favorites if we're excluding Weird Al : And of course:

I was wondering why my score was formatting so weird, then I realized our site admin likes the use of html/css tooltips. Case in point: 69,999 PM VGS PAL It also only shows up after you post so I had no idea of these shenanigans... haha. Anyway, I really thought folks were going to get 200K+ in this one. I didn't get much playtime either, but was a fun challenge and nice to revisit a classic arcade game.